ONE OF THE LARGEST INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES IN THE WORLD, OPEN A TENDER FOR A CONSULTANCY. ONLY ONE WILL WIN. THE ONE WITH THE BEST CONSULTANT. A PLOT THAT INVOLVES TRAVEL, WINEYARDS, LUXURY WATCHES, GOLF, AND A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF METHODOLOGY A spoiler of what will be 1 of 3 spetacular meetings First meeting 1/3 r At 9:45 am Afonso was at the reception of the building; he was taken by Mr. Alberto Jiménez’s executive secretary to his office. He was finishing up a meeting, Monday was a busy day with all the rooms occupied and, exceptionally, it was going to be in his room. There was no problem at all, the secretary said, they would even feel more comfortable. It was spacious, spartan, but in a very classic tone. An antique-style wooden desk, an eight-seat oval conference table and a cream-colored sofa with two wine-colored armchairs. Discreet but beautiful. The walls were full of photos of the Barcelona football team and one of them was Alberto hugging Argentine player Leonel Messi. At 10:00 am, Mr. Alberto Jiménez entered, Afonso had chosen not to sit down, he did not know where the CEO preferred to sit in meetings and did not want to take any risks. He was looking at some photos of the Barcelona team when suddenly the CEO enters. - Good morning, Afonso, how are you, I see you’re enjoying the world of football. - Good morning, Mr. Alberto Jimenez… (Only Alberto please). Thank you, Alberto. Yes, indeed I was looking at some pictures. Do you like football? - I don’t practice, the only sport I do is golf, but I like to see a big football game. - What’s your team? - My team is Sporting Clube de Portugal, but I don’t follow it, as I travel a lot around the world it’s difficult. I see these great classics of Spanish, English and sometimes Italian football. - And do you have a favorite in Spain? - I like Real Madrid. It has always been a club that had Portuguese players and coaches and followed the games a lot when Cristiano Ronaldo was still playing for the club. They practically won everything for several years. - And by the way Afonso of those you know in Spain, there are any you don’t like? - I don’t like Barcelona very much, but I think it comes from the rivalry between the two biggest clubs in Spain and between CR7 and Messi. - In that case, isn’t Messi the best ever in the world for you? - No. For me the best in the world is CR7. - Let’s sit down Afonso, thank you for your visit, I see that you are Portuguese, you speak Spanish very well, but I deduce that you came from abroad on purpose for the visit. - Yes, that’s correct. I came from our London office. He was briefly interrupted by his secretary, just to sign a document, apologized, but those brief seconds made Afonso think about a series of things. What an ass he had been, he who trained his clients not to create friction in the beginning, immediately collided with a staunch Barcelona supporter and, in addition to saying that he liked Real Madrid, he also said that Barcelona it was his least favorite club. But then again, he couldn’t lie. …